Резиденция британского посланника Джеймса Гарриса в Санкт-Петербурге как инструмент дипломатической миссии (1777—1783 гг.)

Электронный научно-образовательный журнал "История". 2026. Т. 17. № 2(160).

Novikova A.

This article examines the residence of the British envoy James Harris in St. Petersburg (1777—1783) as an instrument of his diplomatic mission. Despite growing scholarly interest in informal diplomacy, the embassy house as a space for representation and everyday sociability has rarely been the subject of dedicated research. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including unpublished documents from British archives, private and official correspondence, family diaries, and household expenditure records, the author argues that Harris’s residence was not merely a place of living, but a vital part of the informal side of his mission. The envoy attached great importance to the selection and furnishing of his house, using it to showcase English style and taste, to organize celebrations that upheld the prestige of the British mission, and to foster a circle of confidential communication with the Russian elite and the diplomatic corps. The study demonstrates that an embassy residence in 18th-century St. Petersburg functioned simultaneously as a home, a site of representation, and an environment for building the connections necessary to achieve political goals.

Keywords: Санкт-Петербург, XVIII век, повседневная жизнь, Екатерина II, St Petersburg, new diplomatic history, дипломатическая служба, eighteenth century, Catherine II, everyday life, Russia-Britain relations, Российско-британские отношения, James Harris, British Diplomacy, Британская дипломатия, новая дипломатическая история, Джеймс Гаррис

Publication based on the results of: Development of models for assessing the effectiveness of the socio-political and institutional systems of Russia in historical retrospect (2026)